The Misty Path
by Prymozh
Summary: My own take upon the Shinobi universe long after the era in which the current manga/anime is set.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and unlike the majority of people here, I don't want to. **

Warming: This fanfiction has nothing to do with the main protagonists/antagonists of the main story/anime/manga. It's simply a story set in the Shinobi universe with characters I made up.

Dedicated to my little sister, an avid otaku to which I apologize for continuously reminding her how I hate her obsession with anime (mainly Bleach).

**PROLOGUE**

It all came to this, he thought to himself while observing the scenery before himself. ''Pathetic. Are such really those who they'd rely upon once chaos and panic would struck out?'', he thinks, his lips not twitching one bit, his visage as calm and stern as ever. His eyes are set upon the girl before him, laying bruised and with a small trail of blood flowing down her neck into her garments, starting from her ear which stopped bleeding by now. ''And they call themselves one of the leading countries.. Idiocy.''

His head tilts to the right slightly, looking up at the ledge upon which the feudal lords and the two Kages would be seated. Underneath his hair covering his face, he blinks once. ''The Hokage. Possibly the only one in this rotten village able to actually fight.''

The whole arena stood silent and still, the massive crowd peering down in disbelief as to what just happened in the ring. Mouths stood gaping and eyes widened in shock. The Hokage's daughter, one of the most promising Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf was beaten by this.. this.. nobody!And in barely a matter of seconds. What just happened?

The crowd started whispering.. What did he use? Genjutsu? All they were able to see was how he raised an arm towards the young girl who now laid upon the ground, shivering and trembling with bruises that appeared out of nowhere and blood flowing down her cheek. Just what did that boy do..?

In the Chunin exam's arena stood one single figure, the other one as said before lying in a fetal position, trembling as if experiencing severe cold. The standing figure was clearly a male one, broad shoulders easily visible under the robe he wore. The said robe was a long, black, leathery garment which covered his body entirely except for his head. Yet even that was covered in a long flow of dark black hair which completely enveloped it, making it seem as if the person was one tall cascade of darkness which moved slowly.

Upon the ground, a lithe young girl would be lying curled up and scratching at the ground as if in panic. Her red hair ended just at her shoulders in sligh curls, which barely touched the purple pullover that covered the upper body of the young miss. Her figure was average yet perhaps a bit more on the fragile side. Everyone in the Hidden Leaf village knew her name. Kara, daughter of the Tenth Hokage, a promising user of genjutsu and a shinobi quickly rising in reputation and power through the ranks of the military forces. The entire country counted on her to be the absolute victor at the Chunin exams. She has been told to have undergone missions that would make the ordinary Shinobi cringe at the mere though of taking such tasks, and yet she solved them all without as much as a blink of an eye it seemed. Then why was she lying there, unable to move? Is the match really going to end so soon, more so to the disgrace of the Hokage and secretly to the majority who had all their bets placed on the young Genjutsu Girl?

Kara cringed. ''Why.. What.. Who.. How..'' All these thought ran through her head, making it spin for the first time in ages. There was no possible way for him to have hurt her to this point without even moving a muscle past his arm. Yet the chakra flow that came in that moment was tremendous, it felt like she was being crushed underneath a wave of pure power. What.. What was that? Ninjutsu? Probably, yet what kind? She never experienced anything like it, and it nearly tore her inside-out with one single weave of this powerful.. This.. What should she even call it?! She tries to get up, but each movement felt like something was picking away at her insides. It was at that feeling that she realized he managed to broke her ribs in multiple parts with that jutsu, and now the sharp ends started scratching at her inner organs and flesh each time she tried to stand up.

''Don't move, you'll only create pain where it's not needed..'', comes his deep voice. The rumbling sound of his words hits her like a brick wall, and she is left to stare at him, biting her lower lip in panic. Just who exactly did he think he was? Did he even know who she was? ''No matter, I've to solve this quickly..'', Kara thinks and closes her eyes. She began focusing on a genjutsu that could distract him long enough for her to get back on her feet, her fingers digging into the soil beneath his while she starts to channel chakra towards him. Perhaps if she could make him believe that she passed out while in reality she'd slither away to prepare her next jutsu, she just might be able to recover somewhat and get a hold on the current situation she found herself in.

''None of that..'', and all her plans are rudely interrupted by the deep voice of the shinobi before her. Her mind races madly, ''By now he should be under the effect of my illusion already!'', she thinks to herself, widening her eyes up at him, those black flowing strands of hair visibly tilting slightly forward, peering down upon the girl with his eyes closed. Why didn't her techinque work? How did he see through her subtle genjutsu?! She wanted answers!

''Your chakra is as thick as the blood that's flowing within you, don't look so surprised. Even a kid could be able to sense it. You weave it as if you're it's single master..'', the man speaks while stepping closer and closer. Suddenly a deathly silence befell the stadium, all eyes fixated upon the pair in the arena. Why wasn't the genjutsu user reacting? Will the daughter of the Hokage be defeated in a matter of minutes? Was the fight set up for someone to win the bets? Confusion and silent anger flowed among the people watching the Exams and even the Feudal Lords could be seen narrowing their eyes at the scenery before them.

''What.. How..'', are the only few words Kara can muster, before being rudely interrupted by the figure in the leathery robe. ''How can you even consider yourself a Shinobi? Nothing more than civilian kettle, cannon fodder, first-line militia..'' His insults flow from it's hidden tongue, stepping closer and closer, each footstep raising a fair amount of dust. Kara's eyes peer at the dust, and widen in shock as she spots the small grains of sand spin uncontrollably, before either flying off or completely getting disintegrated when in the proximity of the robed person. That is when she really starts to sweat, finally sensing the huge amount of chakra surrounding this fellow. It seemed as if a small epicenter of chakra concentration, the powers coagulating inside those robes where the man stood hidden, leaving his surroundings completely unaware of the tremendous force hiding beneath him. And yet now Kara could feel it, a gust of a million torrents of slicing chakra, leaving nothing intact, be it sand, soil or grass, all fell victim to the unseen devastation that the man brought closer to the Shinobi of the Leaf with each step he took.

''Forfeit! I surrender, forfeit!'', she cries out all of a sudden, her blue, clear eyes starting to tear up as the man now towered above her. She can feel the bursts, she can nearly taste the whirling doom that surrounded him. She yelps and looks over towards the lodge of the Kages, both standing up and peering down at the unfolding fight, which though could not really be named a fight as per say. Not to those who only watched, atleast, for he crowd burst out in a wave of roars, cheers and shouts. Yelling and arguing spread like wildfire around the tribunes, yet the eyes of the Feudal Lords and the two Kages remained idle upon the field. There, Kara was starting to suffer severe cuts upon her knuckles on her fists, which were her closest body part in proximity to the cloaked man.

In an instant, she can the long hair swirl about, revealing a small, white iris, as if that of a blind man peering down at her. The deathly stare aimed directly at the celestial eyes of the girl who crawled on the ground, which realized that the chakra was expanding more and more, starting to leave her arm scratched aswell. She started to panic and released a shout, an agonizing shriek of pain as more and more keep, gushing wounds could be spotted upon the girl's arm.

One of the Feudal Lords rose off her seating. ''Stop! The match is over, release your jutsu and allow the medics to the field!'', he stern voice rings across the stadium, yet the cloaked man didn't seem to care. The girl's entire arm was now bleeding in various places, and Kara once again opens her mouth, this time because she can feel how the energies are about to burst out in a blast.

''Dad! Daddy, help!'', she cries, before the man before her snaps his fingers underneath his robes and the swirling devastation around him expands like the blast of a bomb.

''Lava Release! Impenetrable Shield of the Leaf!''

With a thundering crash, the whole of the arena is devoured by smoke. The crowd gasps in unity, covering their mouths not to inhale the large quantity of sand that rose at the release of the jutsu. Most of the village knew it and have even seen it now and then, it was the famous protection of the Tenth Hokage. As the smoke clears the colossal shield comes in sight, erected nearly ten meters above the ground. It's dark purple leaf shape has it's tip buried in the ground heat emitting from the summoned structure. Upon it shield, a single person stood with it's Kage robes, his light green hair flowing in the wind as he crosses his arms over his chest. The grandparents clung to their offspring, some whispering to them to explain what's going on. ''The Hokage summoned his shield made out of obsidian in order to protect Kara, you see!'', they nod at their grandkids who try to understand why the dust cloud rose all of a sudden.

The Hokage scoffs and peers down upon the figure standing on the other side of the newly-found obstacle, his daughter whimpering on the other. The said robed man, looks at the obsidial wall before slowly moving his head in a tilt backwards, as if peering up at the leader of the Hidden Leaf, seemingly as calm as ever.

''The match is over.'', the Hokage exclaims. ''You've won, now cease the fighting and retreat back to the medical complex to see if you have any injuries to attend to.''

And yet the man in the dark robe doesn't even flinch. The Hokage scoffs, raising his chin while beholding whoever was it that stood underneath him, his eyes narrowing before he speaks again. ''Do not test my patience. I acknowledge you as victorious, yet you have no right to harm your opponent further. I said.. Leave.'', he speaks out with an annoyed groan following the end of the sentence.

The figure remains idle for a series of seconds, peering up at the male standing ever-so-proudly atop his behemothian defense. He tilts his head to a side, before mutterint: ''Foolish.''

The Hokage bristles in anger: ''Repeat that.. Or head to the infirmary so we can continue the exams..'' His face visibly contorted in anger and disbelief that someone would dare defy and challenge his authority, the head of the village tries to remain as calm as possible, yet fails to do so miserably.

''Miserable excuse for a Shinobi.'', the robed man speaks again. The Hokage's eyes widen, a deep inhale making his face darken in rising anger and annoyance. Never the less, the man at the bottom of the shield of solid lava continues: ''You think titles and reputation give you anything more but your ego? You might be the most powerful of the Leaf's Shinobi, but you know nothing for either power or authority.''

...the tribunes were getting agitated, the people's eyes flickering about in distress, confusion and visible, nearly audible tension...

''This idiotic parade has ran far too long.'', the man with the dark hair goes on. ''It is time that the truth comes unfolded and for the real state of being to be revealed to everyone.''

''Silence! You speak nonsense, and such will not be tolerated in my presence!'', the Hokage raises his voice in a yell at the man.

''You presence is nothing but another stream of chakra..'', the deep, nearly growling voice responds. ''You earned the respect of your people, but you've yet to earn mine and of those who only know of the name.'' The dark-robed Shinobi raises his arms and puts his palms together, taking a deep breath. ''Let us now see how true to the name can the Molten Giant of the Leaf Village be..''

And with that said, the ground beneath them starts to crack. From where the soil burst open, gusts of sand start to erupt, beginning to fill the arena with a thick, golden smokescreen. With his vision obscured, the Hokage tries to calm down, ignoring the screams of the mob around them that started to evacuate. His eyes narrow and he tries to focus and find the source of chakra of the man. Yet at that point his senses pick up something he never felt before. It seemed as if there was not really one point of coagulating chakra with which he could spot the vague whereabouts of the robed, incognito man. All around himself, he felt a set of torrents of chakra, and even those were surrounded with shimmering power, closing the gaps between the main pathways the strange chakra took. ''What in the name of..'', the Hokage thought, getting distracted for a split second, and it was all the strange ninja needed.

''You've been cocky enough, little leader of the Hidden Leaf.'', the man can be heard saying. The leader of Konoha scoffs, finally seeing the male barely a few yards infront of him. ''Let's put an end to your silly reign and let the true nature of things rule.'', the robed figure adds, before locking his arms together again.

''Wind Style: Reaping Death Maelstrom!''

And with that, the Hokage feels the chakra that surrounded him swirl in anger, the before subtle passing flows of energy suddenly picking up speed and power which threatened the man in the midst, already starting to tear at his form and clothes.

''This is inconvenient..'', the Hokage thinks to himself. ''Petty Genin Shinobi of the Mist, what does he think he ca-!'', and all of a sudden, he feels the ground beneath him starting to tremble and shake.

''What in the world..?'', the head of the village thinks, raising an eyebrow to the soil underneath him. Cracks started appearing and more and more dust began to raise.

''A wind technique? Then how the heavens does the ground shake?''. Thought after thought runs through the Hokage's mind as he tries to figure out just who is the man standing before him.

''Title and ego, a deadly combination for suicide..'', the robed man remarks, even though the dust had blocked the sight off for the Hokage. Combined with the dangerously increasing speed of the winds that formed around him, the small pebbles acted like invisible blades, cutting and lodging themselves in the clothing of their target.

''Just what do you plan on doing?!'', the Hokage shouts, yelling at the top of his lungs in the general direction of where the man was standing before. He claps his hands together, the giant obsidian shield suddenly starting to melt down, scorching lava starting to coat the soil underneath him in a thin yet thick pavement of smoldering liquid metal and stone.

This causes the dirt and dust to lessen their presence in the air, thus allowing the Hokage to finally be able to see clearly what's going on before him. Yet the robed man was nowhere to be seen. A single moment of confusion, before a shriek comes from behind the semi-molten barrier of magma. ''DADDY!''

''No. No.. NO!'', the Hokage yells and turns around. With a motion of his hand, he forces the summoned armor to disappear, revealing the scene that made his blood freeze and his heart to skip a beat.

The robed man was now standing above his daughter, holding a kunai above her head and pressing a foot against the back of the young woman. The leader of the Leaf tries to compose himself, glaring at the assaulter of his most precious. He raises his hand upwards and takes a firm hold of the Kage hat, pulling it off. The winds brush his hair leftwards, the soft, green hair flowing with the breeze over half of the Hokage's face. His face as stern and serious as it can be, it's eyes pointed directly at the one who threatened and caused pain to his little girl.

''It is nothing personal.'', the hidden man spoke, the words followed by another sensible increase of the chakra flows around the present figures. A few ANBU personel finally jumped down onto the proving grounds of the arena. One actually gets brave enough to dash swiftly towards the figure restraining the young Genin. Yet the one free hand that remained to him was raised, the long, baggy sleeve slithering and folding downward to reveal a hand so thin and so sickly-looking that even the approaching ANBU member stares in disbelief. Again, merely a moment of distraction was all which was needed.

''Wind Style: Tornado Restriction Cage!'', and with that said, all of the sand that was still circulating and dancing about in the air all of a sudden speeds towards the incoming ANBU. The poor Shinobi gasps, feeling his feet carried off and away from the ground, his body gripped by the winds that started to speed up and twist the man's body in a spinning motion. A visible torrent of air could be seen carrying him just a few feet above the floor and starting to spin his whole being, leaving him screaming and flailing about, yet unable to do much.

The Hokage at the given time just finished his last sign, taking the opportunity thanks to the distraction the ANBU member provided. He claps his hands together and closes one eye, as if aiming at the dark man standing above his daugher.

''Earth Style: Pebble Projectile!'', he mumbles and spits a small stone at high velocity towards the man who held Kara prisoner for now. It travels at increasing speed and hits the target between his ribs with an audible cracking of bones, clearly breaking a rib or two atleast. The Hokage grins, seeming his enemy clench his fist over his chest. And yet the next spoken sentence makes him loose his breath.

''Father! Behind you!''

The Hokage once more turns around and looks upon Kara once more laying on the ground, with the man above her, holding a large katana at the base of her neck.

''So easily fooled..'', the aggressor speaks, shaking his head.

It then became clear to the Tenth Hokage, with the popping of clones behind him that what he shot were merely clones. The real targets were standing behind him, cloaked with some jutsu the man clearly used to hide them.

''Too bad she has to die..'', the man in the dark attire speaks, before raising his katana for an inch.

''Kara! NO!'', the Hokage screams, his eyes wide in panic as he starts to wield signs.

''Lava Release: Fist of the Vulcano!'', the Kage's voice can be heard screaming, and suddenly the ground beneath them bursts open, a dust cloud once more obscuring vision upon the field of battle.

And yet, even through the wall of smoke and dust, the faint sound of steel that cuts flesh can be heard.

And in the wind, blowing away from the scene where the attack had taken place, a streak of red hair is flown and lost to the sky and the clouds above.

* * *

p.s.: I'm not a specialist on the Naruto universe, so any lore-wise mistake is purely because I'm too much of an idiot to go inform myself about every detail of the universe. I'm sorry.


End file.
